Software Architecture Diagram
A Roadmap to Process Visualization
What is software architecture? Software architecture refers to how a system is organized, how all components work together, the environment in which they operate, and the principles guiding its design. Software architecture diagrams add to this by providing visual maps of the software system's parts. Without software architecture diagrams, software development is like building a house without designing the architecture first.
Software architecture diagrams convert abstract ideas into tangible plans, and they can be created effectively within Excalidraw.
Different Types of Software Architecture Patterns
When designing architectural diagrams, software architecture patterns are used to provide a framework for organizing and visualizing complex systems. Based on your project’s needs, you can choose from commonly known patterns, like layered, microservices, or model-view-controller.
Layered pattern
A layered pattern divides components into horizontal layers, each layer handling a specific task within the application. For example, the business layers would be in charge of processing the core logic, such as implementing business rules.
An advantage of the layered pattern is that it is easy to deploy, although splitting up the layers later can be difficult.
Microservices pattern
A microservices pattern involves designing a system of multiple applications, each responsible for a specific functionality.
The benefit of microservice patterns is that it's highly scalable and flexible.
Model-view-controller pattern
A model-view-controller pattern separates an application into three main logical components, which are Model, View, and Controller. Each component has a distinct role in the development of the application.
Most users like the simplicity of the MVC pattern. It breaks an application into three parts, making it easy to work on each part separately.
Client-server pattern
A client-server pattern divides applications into two parts, which are the client (the service requester) and the server (the service provider). This pattern is for instance used for online applications, like emails and file sharing.
Summary
Software architecture patterns capture the design structures of various software systems and elements so that they can be reused.
Developers often come across similar issues when writing code, and architecture patterns provide solutions to address those challenges effectively.
To describe these issues, developers can create software architecture diagrams, which visually showcase the structure and interactions within the system.
Specific Examples and Use Cases for Different Professions
Software Developers
Software developers can create an architectural diagram for microservices to visualize how different services interact and communicate within the system.
Educators
Educators can use client-server patterns to teach how systems are structured to enable communication between clients and servers in distributed applications.
Web Developer
Web developers can use the layered pattern to understand the relationship between the user interface, the application logic, and the backend services.
Tips for Making Software Architecture Diagrams
Best Practices for the Design Process
- Use the right design type: Stick to commonly known software architecture patterns, such as layered or microservices patterns.
- Keep it simple: Especially in collaborative environments, keeping your designs simple is easy, so everyone can understand them.
- Iterate often: Ask for feedback from colleagues and stakeholders to make changes and iterate often.
- Maintain scalability: Failing to consider future growth makes it difficult for systems to handle more load and requirements, making them outdated in the long-term.
- Embeddable links for documentation: Failing to document a design makes it difficult to communicate or transfer it to others. To prevent this, embed links for further details.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Defining the problem incorrectly: Defining the problem incorrectly can lead to problems later on, such as implementing the wrong solution.
- Overcomplicating the design: Overcomplication can happen when architects design a system that is too complex, which can lead to difficulty maintaining and scaling the system later on.
- Not getting feedback early enough: By getting feedback early on, you can avoid problems such as investing time into a design that doesn’t meet the technical requirements.
How to Create Software Architecture Diagrams in Excalidraw
- Use shortcuts: Cmd/Ctrl+Arrow enables you to create nodes or hold Cmd/Ctrl while pressing Arrow repeatedly to create multiple nodes simultaneously.
- Use the Text to Diagram AI tool: Excalidraw’s AI tool automatically generates architecture diagrams. You only need to give the tool a prompt, and it will generate the right diagram for you.
- Collaborate and get feedback: Invite your team members to the same space and get feedback from them through the comments feature.
- Use consistent elements: Use consistent colors, text, font, rectangles, and other elements so your designs are visually pleasing and easy to understand by everyone.
- Create a presentation: Create a presentation to explain your software architecture diagrams to colleagues better.
PLUS
Collaborate on SW Architecture Diagrams with your team in real-time using excalidraw.com free whiteboard. Try Excalidraw+ for PLUS features like comments, read-only links, presentation tool, and more.
